


History's Polish

by AlphaSp



Series: Destiny: Messages from the Past [1]
Category: Destiny (Video Games), Original Work
Genre: Action/Adventure, Original Character(s), Science Fiction, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-24
Updated: 2019-02-24
Packaged: 2019-11-05 04:52:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 784
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17912354
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlphaSp/pseuds/AlphaSp
Summary: After years of letting it sit, Ark takes his old equipment off the shelf, and Sephara learns her idol is closer than she thought.





	History's Polish

**Author's Note:**

> Ey! This is a spin-off story in the overall story, after the events on Triton, and the mission overall. I know it's weird to post this before.. literally anything else, but, it's something I'm at least somewhat confident in releasing now before the rest is done.

It had been many years since he’d taken it off the wall, but it was about time for a tuneup. Ark sat in his quarters, examining the bow that lay before him. The butterfly inlays were scratched and worn, and slightly misaligned from repeated spinning. He blinks, sliding it back into place momentarily.

He runs a hand along the cables, tracing their path through the cams. He didn’t remember how drawing it felt- something he didn’t think was possible, but with all the time off-planet recently he found other things on his mind. Ark stands, and draws the bow to full.

“Traveler above..!” He lets down. _Much_ more than he remembered. At that moment, Sephara appears at the door.

“What was that?” She steps in- the lights in the room glow slightly brighter, before returning to their normal temperature. “Whoah! Is that a Monarque?”

Ark nods, a faint smile flickering across his robotic face. “ _My_ Monarque. Ada had made some adjustments.” He hands it out to her.

Cautiously, Seph asks “Wait, really?” After another nod from the exo, she takes it into her hand. “It’s.. light!”

“Very much so. That was my adjustment.”

“I read on VanNet that these were really hard to handle..” The bow is passed back to its owner, as he sits back down.

“They are. Heavy, and fickle with their timing.” He holds up one of the specialized arrows, examining the capsule embedded in the point. “Many guardians didn’t like them, due to the fact that triggering the special mechanism only works _sometimes_.”

A moment passes. Sephara waits, as the exo continues to look into the vial. “And..?”

“The best hunters know how to.. Make sometimes, always.” A beat. “You’re confused by that.” Sephara nods, Ark stands. “Here. Do you remember the Oathkeepers, of the Dreaming City?”

“The armor that hunters make fun of?”

Ark nods. “That’s the one.” He opens his armory, walking inside. Taking a pair off the shelf, he hands them to Sephara.

“Wait, you actually have them?” Ark nods as she accepts them into her grip. She turns them over, studying the intricate carvings on the adamantite bracer. “Wow..”

Ark retreats back to his worktable’s seat. The bow rests on the table, and he starts waxing the strings.

“Wait, Le Monarque, and the Oathkeepers? Wasn’t there a Crucible legend who used the same loadout?”

Ark shrugged, facing away, towards his bow. “Quite possibly, yes. I wouldn’t know. Not very big on the Crucible.”

Sephara laughs, turning towards the wall where his bow was once mounted. “Don’t let Jarad hear you say that!” Her eyes, now open again after her small laughing fit, fall upon the relative smorgasbord of awards, recognitions, and other Crucible swag that hung on Ark’s wall. “You know, Ark, you’re the worst liar in the city.” Another laugh follows, with Sephara now examining the artifacts more closely. “Ghost in the Night, Annihilation, Undefeated..? Wait, Ark!” Sephara spins around, as Ark turns to meet her gaze. “ _You’re_ the Oathkeeper?!”

Ark nods. “Yep.”

“I used to watch your feeds all the time! My friends and I would always tune in to the Sunday Rumble, and we’d make sure to watch you! You-” Sephara’s smile was infectious, a smirk spreading across Ark’s face. Little sparks flew from her, truly electrifying the air. “Aaah! I can’t believe it!”

Ark grabs a polishing rag, buffering out little imperfections. “That was quite a long time ago. Before I realized that guarding what little we have left is a bit more important.”

“Yeah, but- You even beat Shaxx!”

Ark chuckled. “He threw that game.”

“ _Still!_ ”

The bow began to shine, as Ark continued cleaning out the inlays and detail work. “Maybe I bring you in one day, hm? Give you a reason to get those sparks out.”

“You mean it?”

Ark stands with his bow, turning to Sephara. “Of course. We’ll bring Jarad, and our counterparts along too.”

“A full six-stack! Oh Ark, I’d love it!”

He chuckles again, placing the bow back on its stand. “I’ve just got to make sure you all are up to snuff. I can only do so much myself.” He takes back the gauntlets, returning them to their place in the armory.

“Hey! You know me, I’m a fast learner!”

“You’re also a fast die-er.”

“And then I learn from that!”

Smiling, Ark shakes his head. “Alright, alright. Let the others know. We should gather you all equipment, as well. I wonder if what we grabbed from Triton would be any good.”

Sephara was already halfway out the door. “You can count on me! Hey, Jarad! Ark is The Oathkeeper!”

Ark smiled to himself, as he heard Jarad’s thunderous footsteps booming towards his door.


End file.
